Foot-tread.



T. B. WHEN FOOT TREAD. APPLICATION FILED wmz 22. mu.

1 ,2? 1 H796, Patenfed July.9,1918.

i 2 a 3 1 J M THOMAS IB. WEEK, OF MAHANOY CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

FOOTQ-TREAD.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS B. WREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mahanoy City in the county of Schuylkill and State of ennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Foot-Tread; and I do hereby declare the following. to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved foot tread, and an objectof the invention is to provide a device of this nature particularly applicable'to the running board of an automoblle. There may be one placed adja cent to each door of the body of the automobile.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved tread consisting of a rectangular plate being embedded in the running board, and provided with a plurality of bars extending above the surface of said plate and isposed alined with the running board, so that prior to an occupant entering the automobile, the dirt and the like may be scraped from the soles of the shoes, the dirt passing through the openings between the bars bacit upon the ground.

A further object of the invention is that when it rains, the water will not remain upon the running board, but will pass off through the openings between the bars, owing to the tread being constructed of brass, which may be highly polished, nickel plated, or oxidized, or otherwise finished 0E, so as to prevent rust, and at the same time present a very neat appearance. If desired, the tread may be constructed of malleable iron, cast iron 01' any suitable material that purchasers may request, and if constructed of such cast iron or malleable iron or other like material, it may be either oxidized, nickel plated or otherwise finished, or highly polished, or left plain.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means for preventing movement of the tread, either longitudinally of the running board or transversely thereof.

In practical fields the details of construc- Sp'ecification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1918.

Application filed June 22, 1917. Serial No. 176,344.

tion may necessitate alterations, falling within the scope of what is claimed.

The invention comprises further features and combination of parts, as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a sec- Referring more especially to the draw-- ings, 1 designates the foot tread as a whole, which consists of an outer frame 2 angular in cross section. The running board 3 is provided with an opening corresponding in shape to receive and fit the part 4 of said frame 2, whereas the upper surface of the running board adjacent to and about said opening is rabbeted or recessed as shown at 6, to receive the part 7 of said frame, thereby embedding the tread in the running board. Extending transversely of the frame and integrally connecting the opposite longitudinal sides of the frame is a bar 8, which is tapered or V-shaped in cross section, and its upper face is provided with a removable or renewable V-shaped strip 9, which, when it becomes worn, may be easily removed, and renewed. Integrally connecting the bar 8 and the opposite end parts of said frame is a plurality of bars 10, the upper faces of which are provided with strips 11, which are V-shaped in cross section, and may be removed, so as to be replaced by new strips.

These removable strips constitute means for 1 cutting the dirt and the like from the soles of the shoe, by the person drawing his feet across the bars, prior to entering the automobile. The bars 10 are slightly tapered or V-shaped in cross section, thereby making the openings 12 between the bars Wider at their lower portions than at their upper parts, so as to permit the dirt and the like to viding an entirely new frame.

As shown in the drawings, the V-shaped strips 9 and 11 may be made integral with or separate from the longitudinal and transverse bars. It is to be remembered that all a door sills or steps of railway cars and other human carriers are provided with wear plates, that is, in a broad sense, and it is to be noted that such wear plates have ribs or corrugations, which act to scrape the'foreign matter from persons shoes, and it has been found that these corrugations or roughened surfaces or ribs on such wear plates, owing to being constantly contacted with by the shoes of persons, they become consider ably worn and smoothed off, which necessitates an entire new wear plate. Therefore, in the present case it has been found, that by making the V-shaped portions 9 and 1] detachable from the transverse and longitudinal bars, only such V-shaped strips need repairing, thereby renewing the entire tread, without removing the old tread. However, as before stated, these strips may be made orconstructed integral with the transverse or otherwise coated to prevent rust, or left plain, or highly polished.

The invention having been set forth, what is claimed as new and useful is A foot tread for an automobile running board comprising a casting consisting of a rectangular frame in plan view, the side of the frame being angular in cross section and being embedded in an opening and a rabbet adjacent the opening of the running board, said frame having a. transverse integral bar substantially near, its central portion and provided with a plurality of alined longitudinally extending bars integrally connecting the transverse bar and the end portions of the frame, said bars having their upper portions provided with removable V shaped strips having their upper edges above the surface of the frame and thereby constituting means for renewing the foot tread.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS B. WREN.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM J. MURTIN, WM. 0. JAMES. 

